Wealthy, talented, fiercely loyal. He’s the glue that holds his
family together, but every man has a breaking point. When he heads to
Ohio to attend a funeral, he does so with the intention of taking time
off to clear his head. The very last thing he expects to do is meet a
woman.

Cassie Daiver:

Scarred, but not broken. She’s recreating herself in a small town far away from her painful childhood.

He’s angry with the world and himself. She finally has something she’s afraid to lose. They couldn’t have met at a worse time.

Luke and Cassie are about to discover love often happens somewhere along the way, and usually, when one least expects it.

The Andrades:

Book 1: Come Away With Me (Free Download)

Book 2: Home to Me

Book 3: Maximum Risk

Book 4: Somewhere Along the Way

Excerpt

Cassie was glad Luke had decided to drive back because her hands were
shaking with a mixture of excitement and nerves. They tried to make
light conversation, but the sexual tension between them was too much to
sustain a topic.

They walked into her kitchen together; the mounting anticipation was
palpable. Cassie didn’t realize she was hanging onto the doorknob until
Luke gave her a curious look.

“We don’t have to do this if you’re not ready, Cassie,” he said gently.

She’d felt brave in the restaurant and excited on the drive, but now,
back at her place, she was nervous. “I am. At least I think I am. It’s
just been a long time.”

He caressed the side of her neck lightly with one hand, and she sucked in an audible breath. “How long?”

His touch sparked flames of desire through her. She closed her eyes and
savored the feeling before answering in a whisper, “Four, maybe five
years.”

She opened one eye and peered up at him to assess his reaction. His expression was difficult to discern. “You don’t remember?”

Cassie turned her head away. “I was lonely, and he didn’t matter. I
didn’t even know his last name. I’m not proud of who I was back then. I
wasn’t in a good place.”

Cassie blinked back tears. Unless I tell you I may be pregnant. I can guarantee that would be a mood breaker. “Why am I so nervous? It’s not like I’m a virgin.”

He unbuttoned his coat, lifted her hand, and placed it on his chest
above his heart. “You’re not my first either, Cassie, but can you feel
that? My heart is beating like I just finished a sprint. Do you know
why? Because unlike every other time, this feels different—like I’ve
been waiting my whole life for this moment.”

Cassie’s hand shook against his chest. His heart, like hers, was indeed beating a wild dance. “We barely know each other.”

He placed his other hand over hers on the doorknob. “We can fix that.”
He gave her that lopsided, boyish grin of his that melted her heart.
Again. “But you’ll have to let go of the door, Cupcake.”

She laughed nervously and did. He took her hand in his and brought it up
to his mouth, kissing the inside of her wrist while never breaking eye
contact with her. “Let’s go upstairs to your room. We don’t have to
rush. I want to make love to you slowly, learn every inch of you, and
watch you come again and again for me.”

He swung her up in his arms and carried her out of the kitchen, up the
stairs, and into her bedroom as if she were precious to him. Cassie
buried her face in his neck and clung to him. His consideration for her
almost brought her to tears. She was used to people who took from her.
Even if he left before she woke in the morning, she wouldn’t regret
choosing to be with him. He wasn’t like the fumbling boyfriends she’d
had in high school, or the selfish short-term lovers she’d experienced
as an adult. He was a man who knew how to please a woman and intended to
enjoy doing that.

Ruth Cardello was born the youngest of 11 children in a small city
in northern Rhode Island. She spent her young adult years moving as far
away as she could from her large extended family. She lived in Boston,
Paris, Orlando, New York–then came full circle and moved back to Rhode
Island. She now happily lives one town over from the one she was born
in. For her, family trumped the warmer weather and international scene.

She
was an educator for 20 years, the last 11 as a kindergarten teacher.
When her school district began cutting jobs, Ruth turned a serious eye
toward her second love- writing and has never been happier. When she’s
not writing, you can find her chasing her children around her small
farm, riding her horses, or connecting with her readers online.

Her fourth book in the Andrade Series, Somewhere Along the Way is now available for pre-order!

Email Notice of New Releases: www.RuthCardello.com/Signup

You can find her on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/RuthCardello

Follow her at Twitter @RuthieCardello

If you’d like to email her directly, you may contact her at Minouri@aol.com

Lone Star Burn Series (Montlake Romance)
Book 1: Taken, Not Spurred
Book 2: Tycoon Takedown
Want to hear the song Charles proposed to Melanie with? https://youtu.be/SGZT5nVKfMs

The Legacy Collection
Book 1: Maid for the Billionaire (FREE on Amazon!)
Book 2: For Love or Legacy
Book 3: Bedding the Billionaire
Book 4: Saving the Sheikh
Book 5: Rise of the Billionaire
Book 6: Breaching the Billionaire: Alethea’s Redemption

The Andrades:
Book 1: Come Away With Me (FREE on Amazon)
Book 2: Home to Me
Book 3: Maximum Risk
Book 4: Somewhere Along the Way

Book 5: Loving Gigi (coming this Fall)

The Temptation Series:
Book 1: Twelve Days of Temptation
Book 2: Be My Temptation

Three New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors.One wild project. Taken by a Trillionaire is an escapism fantasy that was born at a party at RWA. Over cocktails, J.S. Scott, Melody Anne, and Ruth Cardello laughed as they plotted this book with the help of two industry friends, Chris and Brian. If you are looking for a historically accurate representation of a monarchy or a serious depiction of how royals maintain their bloodlines, this may not be the book for you. If you love larger than life characters and fun storylines that take you to exotic places with sexy alpha men, then welcome to our imaginary kingdom: Rubare Collina. The men are insanely rich, the traditions are potentially deadly, and the sex will leave you craving a night on this dark isle. If you’ve ever fantasized about what it would be like to be swept off your feet—or tossed over a prince’s shoulder and taken—then you’ll enjoy our trilogy. Novella One: Xander by Ruth Cardello Royal Prince Xander Demande needs to choose a wife before his thirtieth birthday, or he will lose his crown. His list of potential candidates is long but shortens to one woman after a brief encounter with the socially inept, but beautiful and brilliant, Dr. Reanna Fielding. She never thought Prince Charming would come for her. He never thought any woman would melt his heart. Love makes its own rules, but will it save her when she defies not only him but the laws of his kingdom? In Rubare Collina, a marriage proposal can be a dream come true—or a death sentence.

Novella Two: Bryan by J.S. Scott Get married . . . or die. Prince Bryan Demande was left with only two unpalatable choices. When he decides to take his chances rather than marry, his father and the busybody royal adviser take matters into their own hands. Like it or not, Bryan is delivered a kidnapped bride, and it isn’t a woman who’s a total stranger. She’s an American female who has haunted his dreams for the last five years, the only woman who has ever wanted him without his trillions of dollars or his royal title. Suddenly, marriage doesn’t look like such a bad option to Bryan, but he’ll have to convince his angry, kidnapped, bride-to-be that she belongs with him.

Novella Three: Chris by Melody Anne Christopher Demande wants nothing to do with marriage and is willing to renounce his title to the throne to prove it. That is until he meets independent Adara Burnadette and decides he must have her. Unfortunately, Adara is opposed to marriages of convenience. So what does a young prince do when his chosen bride refuses his proposal? He kidnaps her of course.